Excerpt from Lithuania: Facts Supporting Her Claim for Reestablishment as an Independent Nation The present war began through a ruthless attempt to override the rights of a small Nation - Serbia. It took its present form through a further invasion of the rights of another small N ation Belgium. Certain it is that this war will have been fought in vain if the rights of small Nations everywhere are not established and safeguarded by the treaty of peace which Allied victory will impose. The basis of delimitation for small Nations is not easy to find; for neither race, nor tongue, nor religion can alone be considered; nor is numerical preponderance upon the soil always to be taken as a chief factor. Happy, therefore, in the light of the new day that is dawning, is that small Nation whose blood, language, faith and geographic situation combine to establish its cartographic form unmistakably. Such a people are the Lithuanians, whose proudest boast of national self-assertion throughout long generations of severe re pression has been the preservation of their language amidst a flood of linguistic corruption, of their faith against the most fanatical of hostile proselytization, and of their traditions in the face of the most rigorous of official cruelty. To them at length the shifting fortunes of war have brought the definite opportunity for the real ization of their national ideals of freedom and of progress. The Russian débacle has delivered them from the hand of Russian only to pass them beneath the yoke of the Hun. That they can remain there is as unthinkable as that Belgium shall not be de livered and restored. That they can be returned to Muscovite mastery is equally unbelievable in view of the tragedies which the past year has brought forth in every quarter where the White Czar once ruled. That they shall be given the opportunity to regain their ancient estate and their one-time glory is the only course which statesmen who think in just terms of the future can approve. To summarize the equitable demands of this people and to enlighten the American mind - which we needs must think will be the controlling force at the peace conference table - this little brochure has been prepared. Its statements are fully authenticated, its conclusions are fully warranted. That it will succeed in its mission is the earnest h0pe of all who have studied the past and who believe in the future of the small Nations of the world. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.